Western Depictions and Perceptions of Exotic Asian Women
Of particular interest to this argument is the representation of exotic female beauty in the Pacific Islands, as defined by ethnocentric and Euro-centric male desires, as being not only beautiful, but sexual, exotic, and possibly erotic. The term “exotic,” “is described as synonymous with the following words or phrases in the west: ‘outside; foreign;âÂ?¦strange or different in a way that is striking or fascinating; strangely beautiful, enticingâÂ?¦’ (Suaalil 76). These portrayals of exotic Asian females – in addition to the portrayals of savage male inhabitants of the Pacific Islands – fit the popular, generalized Western perceptions.
Similar images of the exotic Asian female are often seen in popular Western fiction and tourist literature. Generally depicted as unwed, with long, silky black hair, bare skin, these women wore phallic-like flowers over their ears to symbolize their sexual availability and refined features made them more pleasing and interesting to Western men. Additionally, the tourism industry was very aware of the traditional Western representation of the Pacific Island beauty and used it often in brochures and other such travel reading. By perpetuating the idea of the exotic female beauty, some Westerners grew more interested in traveling to these islands in pursuit of the beautiful Pacific Island women.
Obviously, Pacific Island women are not all exotic, beautiful, sensual, sexual, pornographic and they do not all follow the perceptions of Western men and media. Still, it is easy to see how Western desires and Western media all perpetuated this view of exotic Pacific Island women.
Similarly, Western cartoon representations, particularly children’s cartoons like Babar and Donald Duck, also idealize and change realistic representations into Western idealizations and perceptions. The way in which fantasy and reality are allowed to be reconciled and perceived in Western thought is in part due to the fact that children will not be suspicious of cartoons and many adults do not bother to make conscious connections between the cartoon lives and the symbolic representation of cultural, economic, social and political structures.
An interesting example is that paternalistic structures that run through the Babar series. The protagonist, Babar, the elephant, is first introduced when he is young; his name contains infantile overtones, such as suggesting baby, babbling and the naÃ?¯ve repetition of simple syllables. A constant flight of birds is seen around Babar’s head once he grows older and is given more paternalistic qualities; although this has no bearing on the cartoon itself, this illustration can be compared to “the circle of violins around the illuminated head, and voice, of Christ in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion” (51). Again, this is a far-fetched, idealistic model, but not beyond the perceptions of the West. In other cartoons, Donald Duck represents capitalism and capitalist ideals. Donald Duck is often represented as being very child-like, though he takes on bizarre compulsions, such as searching for money despite eternal unemployment. Though this cartoon representation does not take the Western, never-ending need for wealth too seriously; it is still a blatant depiction of Western wants and needs.
Clearly, Western ideals and perceptions, as well as colonial structures, often shape the information to which we are privy and our feelings on such significant matters as politics, economics, and culture. Though these views are often masked by child-like cartoons and hidden within travel brochures, it is still easy to see Western perceptions overtaking all forms of media and news representation.
